Researchers only announced the discovery of the most massive and distant black hole collision ever observed. Excitingly, the great cosmic…

Researchers only announced the discovery of the most massive and distant black hole collision ever observed. Excitingly, the great cosmic crash was not alone. The discovery of three other black hole collisions was announced at the same time as the total number of observed mergers of these incredibly dense areas in space to 10.

the great cosmic crash was not alone

The discoveries were announced this weekend at a scientific meeting in Maryland where researchers gathered to talk about the latest research on gravity waves. Gravitational waves are ripples in space that are usually caused by two objects rotating around each other. The strongest gravitational waves come from the collision of black holes or very dense objects called neutron stars.

Two black holes merged and created a black hole 80 times as massive as our Sun

The four most recent additions to the small but powerful catalog of gravity columns were observed between July and August 201

7. The first discovered On July 29th, the biggest and most remote was ever played. Five billion light years away from the earth struck two black holes and created a black hole that was 80 times as massive as our Sun. Gravitational waves travel at the speed of light, so this giant crash took place 5 billion years ago, about hundreds of millions of years before our solar system existed alike. The combination of the two was so powerful that the equivalent of the mass of five Suns was transformed into the waves of gravity – waves reaching the Earth on July 29th.

Researchers, including Albert Einstein, first proposed the idea of ​​gravity waves in the early 20th century, but researchers could not detect them until 2015. Researchers must use large observatories to detect gravity waves and there are currently only a few of these detectors on earth. The latest discoveries were made by two detectors in the United States, called LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) and one in Europe, known as Virgo. We only learn about these four collisions now, for finally they were buried in data collected by the detectors. Researchers found the signals by sorting and rethinking all the observations that the researchers gathered during the last observation run.

LIGO and Virgo have played in some great discoveries since Virgo came online in August 2017, including observation of colliding neutron stars announced in October in October. “In just one year, LIGO and VIRGO together have dramatically advanced gravitational wave science, and the discovery shows that the most spectacular finds are not yet coming,” said Denise Caldwell, director of the National Science Foundation’s Division of Physics in a statement.

is the most spectacular find yet to come

LIGO and Virgo have not made any observations since August 2017. In the stagnation, scientists and engineers have been busy maintaining and upgrading the detectors to prepare the next round observations. LIGO’s third observation run is scheduled for early 2019, and Virgo, with recently updated instruments, is expected to join the fun again.

Astrophysics expect to find many more collisions during the next observations, but they also look forward to getting new equipment in the coming decades. The European Space Agency and NASA collaborate on a space-based observatory called the laser interferometer space aerial (LISA). LISA is made up of three spacecraft located one mile from each other. Its size and position in space means it will be able to detect gravity waves that terrestrial detectors can not. During the summer, China also announced plans to build two space-based gravity wave detectors.

All that activity means that these latest discoveries are just the beginning. LISA is not scheduled for launch until the 2030s, but researchers already predict next generation detectors. Write the latest discoveries in The interview Australian physicist David Blair noted that “With planned new detectors, we anticipate 10 times more sensitivity. Then we expect to detect new signals every five minutes.”